The present invention is directed to a new use of an existing compound. U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,895 relates to the use of a substituted salt of 2-aminopyrimidine. This patent in fact teaches that a particular salt of 2-aminopyrimidine, namely 2-isopropylaminopyrimidine orthophosphate (IAPP), is useful as an active agent for the treatment of neuropathies. Although this use is known, the particular efficacy of the salt against muscular dystrophy has yielded encouraging results.
The invention broadly comprises a method for the chemotherapy of muscular dystrophy, which comprises administering either orally or by injection or administering by any method known to those skilled in the art an effective dosage of 2-isopropylaminopyrimidine or therapeutically acceptable salts of the same or the hydroxylated and oxygenated metabolites thereof.